ST Telecom eager to commercialize world's first 5G service

BARCELONA, Feb. 27 (Aju News) -- South Korea's top mobile carrier, SK Telecom, proposed the joint use of essential facilities among domestic firms like KT to commercialize a 5G network for the first time in the world so that it could become a national cash cow in the future.

A 5G network is about 10 times faster than that of the 4G long-term-evolution (LTE) network. Because of its fast speed, 5G is the ideal network for future technologies such as connected cars and internet on things (IoT).

"In 5G, the world's first is important," SK Telecom President Park Jung-ho said Tuesday at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain. "By building the world's first 5G network, companies with innovative ideas can enter South Korea and we can create national wealth by benchmarking these companies."

Safety is an important factor in the commercial use of 5G services because one mistake can lead to a major disaster, Park said, calling for the joint use of essential infrastructure. "If you do not jointly use essential facilities, you can go forward to 5G."

SK Telecom and KT, the country's largest telecom company, have been locked in fierce competition to commercialize a 5G network. In Barcelona, KT is showcasing integrated 5G services using telecom nodes co-developed with Nokia and Ericsson following their successful test-run at this month.

"When 5G controls the offline world, one mistake in the system will lead to a major disaster. Safety will be an important key factor in consumer choice," he said.

Park said the choice of consumers would depend on how much 5G operators can invest in securing and protecting their network. "Even if it is not completely autonomous, consumers will choose cars that are less likely to be hacked, such as those equipped with a quantum cryptographic module."

In September last year, SK Telecom pulled a successful test drive of its autonomous vehicle on a rush-hour expressway near Seoul. The company promised to enhance the safe driving ability of self-driving by using its mobile communications network. It plans to test the next level of autonomous driving technology such as a vehicle operation in urban areas.